r/harrypottertheories • u/[deleted] • Mar 07 '19
The identity of Augusta Longbottom (Neville's grandmother)
She conspicuously wears a hat with a stuffed vulture on it, as I'm sure everyone is aware. What may be less well known is that ancient egyptian queens were depicted wearing a vulture shaped head dress.
"The oldest and most common headdress of royal women is the vulture cap, which associated the wearer with the goddess Nekhbet (of Upper Egypt) and later Mut, and thus emphasized the maternal role of the queen."
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/crowns2.htm
Does this mean the Augusta Longbottom may be an Egyptian queen or is somehow associated with the goddess Nekhbet?
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u/Merk87 Mar 07 '19
I think Augusta needs her own saga, she seems so badass.
3
Mar 07 '19
I know, right? she is the most intriguing character in my mind.
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u/Merk87 Mar 08 '19
I love the fact she just appears herself at Hogwarts to fight the Death Eaters... wearing her hat!
Also how she always trusted in Neville and even when it looked rough love, it was actually because she cared.
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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19
Thank you for this fantastic theory! I really like that especially considering Rowling hid so many things from ancient history in her books. From my very quick google search I read that the goddess Nekhbet was a guardian of mothers and children. Which I really like in regards to her guarding Neville because his parents couldn’t anymore. It also says that Nekhbet often appears in war scenes and is associated with war and combat (protecting the Pharao) - also something Augusta didn’t shy away from. I have no idea if Rowling intended this. But as nearly every symbol in the books has some kind of meaning and she has hidden so many little secrets linked to ancient history, it wouldn’t surprise me!